Mary Ann, a thirty-two-year-old "woman of color," informs the court that she is "illegally held in slavery" by John Merril, "a negro trader," who is "preparing to take her to a Southern Market." Mary Ann was born in Surry County, North Carolina, the daughter of Rachel Kennedy, "a free white woman," and an unnamed "black" man. Her grandfather, William Kennedy, "removed" the family from North Carolina to Tazewell County, Virginia, when she was five years old. During this time, her "relation to said Rachel was kept a secret in the neighborhood ... though well known in the family." About seven years later, her mother died. Her grandfather then "claimed her as a slave" and sold her to John Tiffanny. This sale initiated a chain of transfers "from hand to hand till she has fallen into the hands of one John Merril." Mary Ann insists that "this illegality has been perpetrated with greater impunity because of the secrecy attempted to be thrown around her birth by the relatives of her mother." She asserts with confidence, however, that her claim to freedom can be substantiated "by persons residing in Surry County North Carolina." Fearing that her "pretended owner" will "tak[e] her off from the States," she asks the court to attach both her and her young daughter and "place" them in the court's custody "untill her claim to freedom can be tried."
Result: Partially granted.
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Repository: Maury County Courthouse, Columbia, Tennessee
